A carotenoids color is oily based color. Accordingly, the color has conventionally been prepared as an aqueous dispersion type preparation (an emulsified color preparation) using an emulsification technique so that the color can be widely used in the coloring of water-based products such as beverages and the like. However, the carotenoids color originating in a natural raw material generally contains large quantities of impurities such as free fatty acids, phospholipids, gum substances and the like originating in such raw material, and is therefore difficult to emulsify, or may show poor storage stability (emulsion stability) even when successfully emulsified. Accordingly, it has conventionally been difficult to obtain a color preparation that contains a carotenoids color in large quantities, i.e., at a high concentration. Furthermore, for the abovementioned reasons, the following problem has also been encountered: namely, in cases where a carotenoids color emulsion preparation is used in a water-based product such as beverages or the like, neck ring formation or precipitation tends to occur as a result of particle deterioration.
Conventionally, the following methods have been known as methods for removing impurities originating in natural raw materials from the carotenoids color: specifically, a method in which an oleo resin obtained by extracting an oil and fat fraction containing the carotenoids color with an organic solvent is hydrolyzed using an alkali, and the carotenoids color is extracted and recovered from the resulting hydrolysis product using an organic solvent (Japanese published examined patent application No. 52-3741), a method in which a mineral acid is added to a preparation obtained by treating an oleo resin containing a carotenoids color with an alkali, and the carotenoids color is recovered by subjecting the carotenoids color-containing substance thus obtained to molecular distillation (Japanese published examined patent application No. 61-52184), a method in which a mixed raw material of a natural carotenoids color and an oil and fat are subjected to a hydrolysis treatment, this hydrolysis product is subjected to an extraction using d-limonene or the like, and the carotenoids color is recovered by removing the d-limonene or the like from the extract under specified conditions (Japanese published un-examined patent application No. 1-290659), and the like.